Hong Kong Anti-Corruption Agency Arrests 8 in Connection with Deadly Fire

Hong Kong's anti-corruption watchdog said it arrested eight people on Friday in connection with a housing estate fire that killed at least 128 people, the world's deadliest building blaze since 1980. The group of seven men and one woman include "consultants, scaffolding subcontractors and middleman of the project", said the financial hub's Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).

The commission had already opened an investigation into the fire at the residential complex, which was under renovation. The blaze tore through seven of the eight high-rise blocks at the estate, which contains a total of almost 2,000 units, for more than 40 hours before it was brought under control. The ICAC said those arrested were aged between 40 and 63 and included "four individuals from the consulting firm of the grand renovation project of Wang Fuk Court, namely two directors and two project managers responsible for supervising the project".

The others arrested included three scaffolding subcontractors and a middleman. The ICAC, an independent statutory body, did not provide details of the alleged crimes. ICAC investigators also seized work documents and bank records from 13 premises. Hong Kong police also announced on Thursday that they had arrested three men on suspicion of manslaughter as part of their investigations.